English
fulmine
Fulmine comes from Latin fulminō ‘lighten, illuminate’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰl̥géh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*folgēōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulgeō‘flash, glare, lighten’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulmen‘lightning that strikes or sets on fire’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulminō‘lighten, illuminate’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfulminer
- Englishearliest quotation 1590fulmine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰl̥géh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*folgēōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulgeō‘flash, glare, lighten’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulmen‘lightning that strikes or sets on fire’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfulminō‘lighten, illuminate’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfulminer
- Englishearliest quotation 1590fulmine
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto II: “And ever and anone the rosy red Flasht through…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’
ball, bowl, bell, bold, bull, flame, bald, boil, blaze, bale, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bolster, budge, sabha, blemish, bola, phlegm, phallus, bolero, blithe, phlox, bleat, blain, 73 more
Today it means
verb To thunder or lightning.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / fulmine